Friday, December 3, 2010

Columbus Baking Co.

Originally reported for NCC News on Friday, Dec. 3rd.

Columbus Baking Company has served Syracuse with its traditional Italian style bread for over a century. Still on Perl Street, the family-owned bakery has been crafting 4 types of bread using simple brick ovens and skilled hands. 3rd generation owner Jimmy Retzos has worked at Columbus Bakery for 37 years. Retzos said the business has been in the family for so long, he hopes it remains that way.



Initially, the bakery employed only Italians. Today Columbus bakery’s’ traditional methods for making bread are still the standard, but there are no Italian employees. The current master bakers are Macedonian, Cuban, and Russian, and all of them speak little to no English. Retzos says, “Somehow they communicate, using hand signals, words they learn from one another, they know the craft and somehow they cooperatively get the job done, and at the end of the day that’s all that matters.”

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